Government to form land development agency

The government is in the process of establishing an agency to manage resources associated with land and resolve related conflicts.

Speaking in an interview with the BBC yesterday, Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development minister Prof Anna Tibaijuka said that the planned land corp. would be beneficial to the citizens as it would, among other things, help people in managing land ownership, give guidance in land compensation and help boost productivity.

Prof Tibaijuka added that the government would also introduce a system known as performance bond whereby any investor who acquires land would be required to contribute a certain amount of the produce or product to the government.

“The performance bond will be a challenge to those who will have the ability to own the land. For example, if a person applies for land for rice production and fails to produce..., the government will take the bond from them,” Prof Tibaijuka said.

However, she cautioned that municipal councils will not have the right to give title deeds to investors under the system, saying the only institution which has the mandate to do so is her ministry.

Prof Tibaijuka stressed: “We can’t give out the people’s land so simply, because if we do so we are going to have a nation whose people have no land. In so doing we can ensure peace to our nation through proper issuance of title deeds.”

The minister also said that under the new system, the government will also make sure that those who invest in land agree to give at least 25 percent of the project’s worthy profit to it.

She said that under the new arrangement known as land pro-equity system, the investor will not be allowed to own land permanently.

According to her, the government through the people will retain at least 25 percent of the allocated land, leaving the rest for production by the investor.

She added that, “through the newly introduced system, the government is also going to earn more benefits since agricultural production is a significant component in the country’s economy.”